Russia has all means of retaliation against Turkey, Armenia must be prepared - Vahan Shirkhanyan

Russia is sure to take retaliatory measures against Turkey, with dozens of means at its disposal, Armenia’s former deputy minister of defense Vahan Shirkhanyan told Tert.am.

“Of course, it has dozens of means at its disposal, and launching a war is not the first and foremost at all. Turkey is sure to be punished, and Russian-Turkish relations are sure to worsen sooner or later. And Armenia's most important task is to be cognizant of how well it can be prepared for that,” Mr Shirkhanyan said.

A Russian-Turkish war is unlikely. However, if it proves inevitable it is a chance for Armenia to be prepared for it.

“It may be a historic chance, and Armenia must be prepared. Armenia is Russia’s strategic partner and, if needed, it must act as a strategic partner,” Mr Shirkhanyan said.

As to the reasons why the Russian State Duma has only now circulated a bill on Turkey’s accountability for denying the Armenian Genocide, he said that it is an element in Russia’s actions, and it should not be viewed as an attempt to involve Armenia in the developments.

Asked if Russia’s dealing with its strategic partners are adequate – given the fact that Russian frontier guards and Armenia’s air defense forces remained silent when a Turkish helicopter gunship entered Armenia’s airspace on October 10 - Mr Shirkhanyan said that Armenia should have downed the helicopters that entered its airspace.

“Of course, there are cross-border incursions in both cases, but they are actually different situations. In the Russian-Turkish incident Russia is waging a war on terrorism, and a Turkish warplane downed the Russian one while the other was destroying terrorists. The difference is great,” he said.

According to him, one could logically assume NATO has its share of responsibility for the incident with the Russian jet. However, given Turkish President Recep Erdoğan’s policy, he may have ordered downing of the Russian warplane.

“Recep Erdoğan is an unbalanced personality and he can make independent decisions though, after the incident, both NATO and the United States are trying to defend him. Russia-US-NATO confrontation is growing, and it should not have been a surprise if NATO has allowed downing of the Russian warplane. Being prepared is of importance for us.”

Mr Shirkhanyan is sure that despite such steps Russia is determined to accomplish its mission in Syria, and Turkey can by no means prevent it.

“There is no defusing tension. There is no marking on a course of peace and cooperation. Terrorists have always operated in Turkey, and further developments should naturally be expected.”